


Something Distracting

by PastyPirate



Series: Worst Kept Secret In The Rebellion [2]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, I aggressively ignore canon, Singing, mentions of Bor Gullet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 10:56:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9178495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastyPirate/pseuds/PastyPirate
Summary: Cassian never really thought about statutes of limitations on disobedience. Mainly because he’d never disobeyed an order before. But after nine months, and a mission that can only really be called successful (body count and everything), he felt like getting a slap on the wrist for disobeying an order was a bit much.In which; Cassian has no idea how to properly be grounded, he ends up thinking too much about things he'd rather not focus on.





	

Cassian never really thought about statutes of limitations on disobedience. Mainly because he’d never disobeyed an order before. But after nine months, and a mission that can only really be called successful (body count and everything), he felt like getting a slap on the wrist for disobeying an order was a bit much. 

“I’m being grounded for three days for what?” Cassian, tilted his head and frowned up at Draven, who only sighed deeply as if Cassian was a constant troublemaker rather than a highly decorated and dedicated intelligence officer. 

“It’s come to my attention that you had a window to carry out your _orders_ regarding Galen Erso, but did not carry them out, do you remember the orders I speak of?” Draven arched an eyebrow at him, as if willing Cassian to deny it. 

“Yes, I recall,” he pointed to where Draven had given him the initial orders, “you told me over there-”

“And was it your _relationship_ with-” Draven started, and for the first time ever, Cassian found himself speaking back to a superior officer. 

“It wasn’t because of Jyn- Ensign Erso-” he corrected himself, to also demonstrate that Jyn was now _one of them_ , in training and ready to join their forces, “I mean, yes, it was because of something she said, but not because of my feelings towards her. I trusted her judgement and felt that it was necessary to keep Galen alive in order to discover where the plans were.” 

Disobeying, talking back, and now _lying_ to a superior officer? A shadow of his old self is somewhere screaming at him. Sure, the whole ‘needed the intel’ occurred to him- three days later when he was floating in a bacta tank.

“Would you have been able to find the plans without-” Draven spoke with gravitas, he seemed to have an air of _I’m just looking out for you friend_ when Cassian knew for a fact that Draven was only looking out for himself.

“No.” Cassian shook his head, “the intel Jyn gathered was vital to the battle of Scarif.”

They both waited a beat, but Cassian couldn’t leave it alone, “besides, he probably died from the bombing of Eadu-”

Disobeying, talking back, lying and now sassing. It didn’t sit right with Cassian that Draven sent a squadron after him, as if he didn’t trust Cassian to do what was right for the rebellion after all these years. 

“Nonetheless, you’ve disobeyed orders, do you deny it?” Draven folded his hands in front of him. 

Cassian shook his head no, he didn’t deny it. If he could go back and change anything it’d be that he’d move a little quicker, and drag Galen back to the ship. 

“You’re grounded, without pay-” Cassian snorted at that, he didn’t know if he ever actually did get paid, Draven ignored him, “-for three days.”

Cassian nodded, and saluted, ready to walk away, Draven called after him, “Oh and Cassian? I know you have a tendency to stay in Erso’s quarters when you’re off assignment, it would be best if you stayed in your own.” 

Cassian, turned his head, ever so slightly, so Draven could see his profile, and the quick jerk of his head as he nodded, before he strode off to the hangar to finish checking in his ship.

XxXxXxXxX

While they all had their scars from Scarif; Kaytu’s might’ve been the most visible. Kaytu’s head was covered in burns and was dented. It was the only part Cassian had managed to recover during their quick and swift exit from the island. It had taken them four months find another body that would fit with Kaytu’s unit. Cassian missed the comedy of having Kaytu’s head sitting on the dash and quipping sassy remarks whenever Cassian went on a mission, but he was beyond overjoyed that Kaytu could actually be of help again.

Jyn and Kaytu had a long argument, one that lasted about three weeks after Cassian and Jyn had managed to find a new body, about whether or not the imperial sign on his shoulder should be covered with fresh paint. Kaytu’s point had been valid, he was a droid who worked with an intelligence officer, one who frequently went undercover in dangerous missions and couldn’t exactly bring along a droid who had the rebel insignia stamped on him. Intelligence missions- especially deep undercover intelligence missions- always brought a frown to Jyn’s face. Her argument had absolutely nothing to do with his ability as an intelligence officer, and everything to do with the fact that people kept almost shooting him on base. 

Kaytu won, with the admission that after the war was over he’d paint over the insignia. It was a truce, of sorts, that Cassian appreciated. 

But it didn’t stop Kaytu from being, well, Kaytu. 

“The probability is very high that you’ll now be going to Jyn Erso’s quarters,” Kaytu informed him after Cassian finished shoving his dirty clothes into his bag. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, I have to clean up first,” he patted the bag full of bloody clothes that he’d probably have to incinerate and requisition new clothes. Could he requisition new clothes while being grounded? He hoped as much or he’d have to lounge around his quarters naked. Which would be fine if Jyn was there, questionable if he was alone. “If you want I could stay, and do the post trip analysis-”

As Cassian stepped towards the controls, Kaytu’s arms lifted, and hovered protectively over them, “No, I shall take care of that.” Kaytu’s voice sounding more petulant than usual. 

“Let me know if you need anything, if Jyn comes by, let her know that I’ve been sent to my quarters, and probably shouldn’t have visitors-” which wouldn’t stop her. Not even a little bit. 

“After all these years and now they’re censuring you? Why didn’t they ground you for a few days when you started showing incredible poor taste?” Kaytu’s new body had more dexterous control over the fingers, he could press buttons with ease, Cassian took a second to watch him, and refrained from pointing out that ten years before he’d shown up with an imperial droid that he won in a game of cards against a few hutts, and everyone had gotten incredibly mad about it. 

“You know where to find me Kaytu-” Cassian started to say as he ducked out of his ship.

“Under Jyn Erso?” Kaytu shot back, Cassian really only had himself to blame for giving Kaytu a great target to hit. Still, he scanned the hangar to make sure no one was in gossiping distance before turning back to Kaytu. 

“Yeah, under Jyn Erso,” with a grin he strode out of the vessel, leaving Kaytu to mumble something about humans and their attachments.

XxXxXxXxX

Intelligence officers, as a whole, had a different system of quarters. They didn’t have a set of quarters that were their own anytime they landed. There was no telling how long they’d be undercover, how long their quarters would be empty, or how long they’d actually need to crash for. Cassian once spent a year undercover, on a mission that was supposed to only be for a week. The logistics of it all was a nightmare, as a result intelligence officers were assigned a set of quarters upon arrival at the base.

Which meant that Cassian had to stand in line, before getting his assignment. He got a long explanation that basically boiled down to _we’re sorry, we only have the super fancy quarters left. Your medicine and clothes will be waiting for you by the time you get up there._ Which only made him wince, as he’d forgotten to take his meds for the entire two weeks he’d been away. 

He decided that although he was being sent to his room- like a child- Draven never specifically stated how long it should take for him to get there. He took a scenic route, to talk to Bodhi at the edge of the hangar, where he was painstakingly mapping out imperial routes for the rebels. He slowly walked towards the quarters reserved for visiting dignitaries. He happened upon Chirrut, who was sitting at the edge of a platform, soaking in sunlight Cassian supposed, as he couldn’t actually see the stunning landscape before them. Cassian gave Baze a nod of recognition, but kept moving towards the floor. 

It took him twenty minutes to shower, toss his clothes into a basket, and pull on the bare necessity of underclothes. He dragged a heavy chair towards the window, sinking into it and propping his feet up on the ledge. 

The drink was horrible- he’d been told to chug it down twice a week until his ribs stopped hurting. He probably remembered to actually do it half of the time, and he suspected that the doctor was acting on Vet rules- prescribing more with the assumption that he’d not take it all. The twinges were mostly gone, but there were still brief periods where he couldn’t take in a breath without a stabbing pain in his side. A situation that he didn’t help by refusing at all to relax or take it easy since they pulled him out of the bacta tank. He was either on a mission, or in a dark corner with Jyn. Neither was relaxing, but both of them kept him going, kept him from thinking about the horizon curving up as a city disappeared, or thinking about how it was mere luck that got him Kaytu’s head, and how if he was just a second off he would’ve lost his friend for eternity, it kept him from thinking of that clutch of fear, when he saw Jyn run onto the platform just as the rebels began bombing Eadu. 

He takes a swig of the medicine and wills himself to forget. He’s fine, they’re fine. And if they had all died on that planet they’d still be fine, because the mission was a success. It’s not a mental track that’s working for him, so he takes another drink, and wills himself to think about something else. Instead of thinking about anything beneficial, something distracting, his own father leapt into his head.

By all accounts; Cassian is the spitting image of his father. Someone who once knew both his parents said that he had his mother’s eyes, which was ridiculous, because both of his parents had brown eyes. He knows this, because he’d been told it by the same people who said he had his mother’s eyes. All in all, it’s ridiculous. The only image he has of his parents, they’re clutching on to each other in the pandemonium at the edge of the protest and all Cassian can see is the glint of sunlight off the clear white panels as the stormtrooper raised his gun-

Cassian shook his head, taking another gulp, and tried to forget, but he couldn’t. It was all he had left of them. 

He did have a holograph on him when he ran away, it was a common practice on his homeworld, ravaged by war and by families being split up, that children were made to wear a necklace with a holograph that showed a photo of their parents, their address, and a list of the closest relatives. 

Cassian landed in the arms of the rebel forces wearing nothing more than the tattered clothes he’d left the house in that morning, and with the holograph clutched in his hand. He’d spent the next six months sneaking away every night, to a kind droid who would play the holograph for him. 

The holograph was from his parent’s wedding- that’s information he retained from being told- and like always, it’s cast in a blue hue. His parents were dancing, waltzing, but he couldn’t see their feet, he could just tell from the way his arms are around her, and how she’s clutching his shirt, smiling up at him. He throws back his head and laughs which always made Cassian wonder if he could ever laugh like that. If he’d ever find happiness again. He’d tried to mimic his dad’s laugh once or twice before, echoing the deep belly laugh which is the only audio on the holograph. He does it in situations where he needs someone to like him, or he’s desperate to feel something- with mixed results. 

Although he can remember vividly watching the holograph, he has no idea what happened to it. He supposed someone took it from him, or he wore it out from continuous use. 

Being reprimanded for Galen Erso makes him think about what he’d told the holograph every night, _I’ll do it for you_ , he’d promise them, every night, and ward away the image of the stormtrooper’s raised blaster to desperately replace it with his father’s laughter instead. Instead both live within him, spurring him on. Galen Erso- specifically _not_ killing Galen Erso made him realize that there were things that his parents did for each other- completely independent of the things they did for him- to survive. That much is a mystery, he couldn’t quite ask his father _hey, would you disobey a direct order for mom after knowing her for all of five minutes?_ He likes to think the answer is yes. 

He eyed the glass, half empty. He was halfway there. He gingerly took another sip, before pushing himself to gulp. Now he was thinking about that grave, the mess of limbs, the horror laid bare to him, high up in the trees where the stormtroopers couldn’t find him. 

_Singing, I should sing_ he does it in the quiet moments when his mind is particularly tenacious with bad memories. He launched into the first thing that came to mind, singing the words as they came to him. 

He could hear the press of buttons of a code being punched in. He knows before the door slides open who it is, and he doesn’t bother to move at all, just sigh in relief that he didn’t have to wait for her much longer. 

“I’d heard you been banished to the far reaches of the compound,” Jyn says by way of greeting, letting the door slide shut behind her. He only stops singing as she crossed the room. 

“I think Draven is beginning to suspect something,” which is ridiculous. It’s not like he only smiles when Jyn is in the room, and vice versa. It’s not like they have been known to disappear from the mess hall, only to reappear later extremely messy. The whole rebellion has a list of “Will They Won’t They” couples that anyone can put bets down on. He refrained from putting a bet down on himself because the only days were in the future, and they’d already did two weeks before. 

Jyn had been adamant that what they did in the shadows was their own damn business and she didn’t need people prying. His argument was that he was an intelligence officer, and having a relationship was akin to putting a target on someone else’s back and hoping for the best. Still, they weren’t exactly being subtle. 

“I hear that you disobeyed a direct order, what was it?” She kicked off her boots, and dragged the other chair to mirror his own, propping her own feet on the ledge. Normally he’d feel exposed, there he is in nothing more than his underwear- not even an undershirt- and there she is, fully clothed, a freshly stolen blaster riding high on her hip. But instead he feels comfortable. She held up a hand, smiling, “wait let me guess- you didn’t give a rousing enough speech about joining the rebellion to a bystander- no wait! You talked too much about your tragedies and got too many stormtroopers to deflect and now we don’t have the resources to train them?”

“It wasn’t from this mission,” he avoided her eyes, finishing the last of the medicine as he did so. He could see at the corner of his vision, how her smile dropped. 

“Oh,” she leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, with a frown. “ _Oh_ ”

He wished he still had something to do with his hands, but he didn’t, he cast a look around the room, very aware of what they could be doing if he was slightly less moody. It’s more privacy than they had in months, but he’s wrapped up in the ghosts of his pasts, and now she is too. He wants desperately to distract them both. 

“All things considered, for disobeying a direct order, being banished to the plush rooms isn’t exactly a punishment,” she’s trying to break the mood as well, and he wants to let her. 

“Ah, yes, but I was told not to go to your quarters,” the training quarters are thin small rooms, she’d elected to share a room with Bodhi until they got their assignments. She’d confessed To Cassian that she was just a little bit concerned about Bodhi’s interaction with what she called a _Mind Octopus_. For a while Cassian didn’t get it. After Scarif Bodhi seemed fine- well, suffering from a large number of burns and shrapnel, but otherwise _fine_. All Cassian wanted was a bit of privacy, and several uninterrupted hours with Jyn. It wasn’t until he stayed a little too late in Jyn’s room once, playing a card game that he was fairly certain Jyn created in order to win, with Bodhi slowly falling asleep on his bed that he realized what Jyn meant. Bodhi snapped awake, screaming and crying. Jyn dropped the cards and shifted from her own bed to Bodhi’s and did her best to bring him back to consciousness. After that he spent his rare nights on base in Jyn’s bed, doing nothing more than sleeping and waiting for Bodhi’s screams. 

“Ah, yes, but he didn’t say not to see me at all,” Jyn supplied, and he nodded, “Draven should be more clear with his punishments.” 

“I think he suspects that this is very one sided, me seeking you out-” 

“Draven is an idiot.” She says vehemently. So he’ll add _not defending his superiors_ to the list of _Things I Didn’t Do Before Jyn_

“Draven is your superior officer. Or he will be when you get your assignment.” He shrugs, “but he doesn’t quite understand me, I don’t think.” 

“What were you singing?” Cassian looked up at Jyn at that. The setting sun was casting her in a beautiful light, her skin was still pale, but she seemed healthier than she had been before. She’d let Bodhi take scissors to her hair and he’d done a surprisingly good job of cutting her hair, she’d hadn’t done as great of a job with his- as she just cut off the tip of his ponytail. He hadn’t minded. Cassian bought himself a second, by running his fingers through his wet hair- where he’d been vain enough to let someone else cut it. 

“It’s a lullaby, from my people,” he thought for a moment, of how he used to go back to the base with the other child soldiers, his arms tired and his feet heavy, and a woman would feed them soup from a giant vat, singing. 

“You don’t have a voice for lullabies,” Jyn shook her head, her long bangs falling over her eyes, “you should be singing one of those sultry songs, a sexy one that doesn’t get translated into other languages because it relies on too many euphemisms-”

“I don’t think I know many songs like that,” Cassian’s parents didn’t exactly sing them, and then the only music he heard on Fest were fight songs and war ballads. 

“Many?” her grin is predatory, he should feel targeted, but he only feels comforted. 

His first mission with the rebellion- the actual rebellion and not just the child soldiers he ran with on Fest- is one that Draven specifically recruited him for. Cassian, who was all of twelve, and an older officer, were sent to an imperial planet to gather intel, become a base of sorts. Their cover was that the man’s wife had died, so he and his son were moving to start a new, safe life, away from the rebellion as traveling salesmen. The older officer had also been from Fest, but he left it long before the protests. His ship was stocked with music, mostly the kind that Cassian didn’t have the appropriate vocabulary to understand. He’d play the songs on repeat and explain them to Cassian as they traveled. In retrospect, it was widely inappropriate. It was supposed to be a easy mission- he was after all twelve- but instead it ended with Cassian returning to base alone six months later with all the intel. He couldn’t even remember the officer’s name. The songs were an unexpected side effect of the whole mission. 

“Well there’s this one song. About a man who fell in love with a woman but he knows that if he pursues the relationship that’ll be that, she's the one for him and he’ll never be satisfied with another woman, but he can't bring himself to cross that threshold,” Cassian faltered, it's a little too on the nose, he knew before he even kissed Jyn that there'd never be another, “it's quite beautiful- it follows the old style of having slowly paced verses and a quick upbeat chorus-” 

“But it's not dirty, not even a little bit,” 

“No he's thinking about her-” at Jyn’s perplexed face he adds an arm motion that he once was very familiar with “ _he thinks about her._ ” 

“Oh!” Jyn’s face lit up in delight, “that is dirty. Can you sing it for me?” 

Finally something distracting, something to take his mind off the retrospective path he had not been prepared to go down. He thought about it for a moment, ignoring the lopsided smile that spurred him on more than a little. 

He took a deep breath and started. The first verse is slow, a man lamenting that he'd met this perfect woman. Jyn leaned forward smiling, even though she probably doesn't understand a word. He stood up as he sang setting the glass on the bedside table before returning to her, reaching out with his hand for her. The trust they've built is solid, she wrapped her fingers in his, delighted eyes resting on his face. 

The pace changed from slow to rushed in a heartbeat as Cassian tugged Jyn to her feet, the words rush out as she lets out a burst of laughter, it warms his soul even as he dictates the laundry list of dirty deeds the author wants to do to the woman. He punctuates a line with a quick kiss to her jaw, and tugs her into his arms, he sways her for a second before deciding to level the playing field, his words slow just as his motions do. The author is back to Lamentations on how perfect the woman is, and Cassian took a moment to revel in how perfect Jyn is, shoving her vest off her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. 

He feels a tad bit ridiculous, slowly singing in a language she doesn't know as he untucked her shirt and helped her pull it over her head, but her eyes are stuck to his mouth. 

He can't handle the intensity, so he stepped in close, letting his mouth hover over hers with a grin, he takes a moment, just a moment, to press a kiss to her lips, her fingers thread through his hair. He could just stop, but she's never looked at him like she is right now, and he wants to play along- they have the time after all. 

He broke away and started singing the upbeat chorus, with a slightly altered list- oddly all things he wants to do to Jyn, along with the author’s need for release. Cassian’s hands go to work on jyn’s belt, and her hands fumble with him, doing the hard work of taking off her binding for him. He keeps singing, pressing kisses everywhere but her lips as he punctuates. He helped her step out of her pants by walking her towards the massive bed. Another pause, another quiet kiss, the third verse is short, and quiet- a confession of love that Cassian hasn't said yet but he knows it's there- they wouldn't be in that room together if they didn't love each other- the fire would burn too hot and destroy them both if there was no love to anchor them. 

“Cassian-” Jyn threaded her fingers through his hair again, and it's still as amazing as it always is. 

But Cassian isn't done yet, there's one more chorus, he presses a quick kiss to her lips before shoving her back on the bed, he sang and appreciated the sight of a laughing Jyn bouncing on a bed, before crawling up to hover over her. The kisses as punctuation takes him down her body, as he presses a kiss to each and every scar that he can see, with an errant kiss next to her necklace. He captured her hand that reached for his last bit of clothing, and held her arm up, pressing it into the bedspread above her head.

The song ends- well he finishes singing as he presses his lips to the skin below her belly button. He looks up at her, the laughter in her eyes have been replaced with a fire. She's looking at him like he’s everything, and suddenly it sinks in, she's it, she's everything. He didn't even try to stop it. 

“Please tell me there's no more-” Jyn is gasping just as much as he is, and it's heady. He's not sure if he's breathless from kissing her where he should have been sucking in breaths or if it's from just being in her presence. 

“You wanted me to sing, now do you want me to-” he hooked a finger in the waistband- but she slapped his hand away, for a split second he panicked, thinking he misread the situation, but as soon as his eyes meet hers he knows exactly who the culprit is- Jyn’s impatience. 

“Enough of that, I want you in me-” she’s tugging on his shoulder, trying to pull him level to her face, and he went willingly, between the two of them they manage to shove the last of their clothes away, and for the first time she’s fully naked in his arms in a well lit place- but he's too far gone to properly appreciate it. There's nothing left to do but fall into her.

He slid into her, she’s already hot and wet, and he had to pause for a moment, before he embarrassed himself in front of the goddess in his arms. Jyn apparently did not understand the reason for his hesitation, and instead moved, hitching her legs higher. He clutched at her thighs and figured that if she wanted him so badly, he might as well give in.

He pulled out, almost entirely, keeping just enough in her that he was sure she could feel it. The fire in her eyes turned to murderous and he only grinned, slamming his hips forward just to pull back again. She groaned, biting her own lip and arching her back as he tried to keep the long motion in his pace. He leaned forward, suck bruises in her neck. The marks he left before his last mission were almost gone, she apparently appreciated his attempt to renew them, clutching his hair as she groaned. 

“You know,” he pulled away, leaning back on his haunches, the shift in angle had her gripping the bed post, it was through sheer willpower that he kept the pace, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting into her as deeply as he could, his hand drifting down to where they were joined to make sure she was as close as he was, “you don’t have a roommate here.” 

She took _that_ hint and moaned his name, or really growled it as her hands abandoned the post and reached for him, he used his free hand to grab her own, and apparently gave her enough leverage to rock up and straddle his lap. 

He couldn’t keep up with the long thrusts with her in his lap, so instead he gripped her hips as tightly as he could, abandoning her clit to set a different sort of punishing pace. He swallowed her moans with his kisses, grinning as she fell apart in his arms. Her fists clenched his hair and kept him prisoner, the pain helping him stay grounded until she finished first. 

If the sudden breathless moans didn’t tip him off, the way she went boneless in his arms did. He kept his arms wrapped around her, grinning into her shoulder as he lowered her onto the bed. Her arms wrapped around his head, no longer tugging at his hair. It’s not like they were keeping score, but if they were then he was in the lead. 

Cassian tried to pull out, he wasn’t sure what the etiquette here was, but she was limp and he didn’t want to push her too far, but her arms moved quickly, grabbing his hips as she shifted her legs, pulling him in deeper. 

“Come on Cassian,” Jyn grinned up at him, smiling, “you give up that easily?”

“It’s not a competition,” Cassian shot back, his hands returning to her thighs, holding them close to his body. 

“Yeah but I’m winning-” 

He slammed back into her, and cut her off. She gasped instead and her eyes went wide. Slow and gentle would have to wait for another time, he tried to push her back towards the edge, leaning over to press a kiss just below her ear, “I definitely think I’m winning.” 

She swore at him, turning her face to capture his lips again, groaning as he tried to build her up again, his name getting louder and louder on her lips with every passing moment. Until finally he found the same release as he’d given her, just as she found it again. 

Exhausted and spent, he did his best not to collapse on top of her, bracing himself above her. Jyn muttered something, but he couldn’t understand, his grasp on reality was galaxies away. But her arms were tight around his waist, and it was his turn to take the hint, sinking down on top of her, letting his weight sink onto her as her hands ran up and down his back.

XxXxXxX

It didn’t take long before his mind returned. He’d felt fairly odd laying naked on top of the blankets watching the sunset, it was too decadent, too indulgent for him. so she’d helped him lift the blankets over their hips, but she wouldn't let him tug it up to their chest, instead she leaned into him, her hand splayed out on his chest and her head tucked into the crook of her shoulder.

“I finally get you alone, in a bed, and we end up rushing,” Cassian tried for petulant, mimicking the way she treated Draven, but he missed by a mile. It was probably because he was out of breath and strangely both spent and ready to go again. 

“We didn’t rush, we took exactly as much time as we needed. You're just hell bent on torturing me,” she poked his chest, he reached up and caught her hand with his own, threading their fingers together, “how was I supposed to know that you’d sound like that? Did you spend six months as a cabaret singer?” 

He couldn't help but chuckle at that, “no, I've never gone undercover singing.”

“Okay so it's just another thing you're born with,” she nuzzled into his side, “perseverance, good hair, loyalty, and a singing voice to envy?” 

He just grunted in response, he didn't want to dispute it, but he wasn't quite sure how to respond. It took him a few months but he realized that she thought she was as lucky as him. Which was insane, he was the one who managed to stumble upon her in a mission of all things. He had rolled out of bed and was handed her personnel file. _Here Cassian, this woman will complete you in ways you never thought possible._

She mumbled the third verse into his chest, he froze, unsure if she understood what she just said. She lifted her head, folding her arms on his chest, his hand still caught in her fingers, “what does it mean?” 

He could lie. It felt like a checkpoint he should be cautiously moving through, but as he looked into her eyes he found himself blurting it out, “it means ‘I love you dearly’” 

She nodded, contemplatively before she repeated the phrase again, the words rolling awkwardly off her tongue. Her eyes snapped to his again and she said a completely different phrase, in a language he didn't understand. He repeated it back to her, adding an inflection of question as he did so.

“It means ‘I love you more than all the stars’ in my mother’s homeland,” her eyes drifted down to his chin, as she lowered her head back to her hands. 

Cassian thought about it for a second, it was more poetic, he repeated it again, doing his best not to mess it up, “ _I love you more than all the stars._ ”

Her head lifted, her smile bright, as she repeated the phrase from the song again, “ _I love you dearly._ ”

Cassian used his free arm to tug her up, she pressed against his chest to help close the gap between them. The kiss was as innocent and gentle as the quick presses he’d done while singing to her, but it made his chest bloom with warm that had nothing to do with the heat of her body pressed against his. 

She settled back down on his chest and laid her head on their entwined fingers, and together they watched the sun set over the edge of the horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> My brain was all "ho don't do it!" when it got to the smut part but here we are. 
> 
> This is set about two years before "Someday Maybe" 
> 
> I may or may not write just a tiny bit more (srsly, just a tiny bit more)


End file.
